of Sir Wm. Jones

65

Account of the Life of Baron Imhoff 74

Miscellaneous Tracts.

Poetry.

The ORIGIN, PROGRESS, and TERMINATION of the late WAR between the BRITISH GOVERNMENT in INDIA, and the MAHRATTA PRINCES, DOWLUT RAO SCINDEAH, and RAGOJEE BOUNSLA.

THE late rupture between our government, in India, and the Mahratta princes, arose from a combination of various circumstances, which shall be fully explained. But in order to enable our readers to understand the nature, and appreciate the importance of those circumstances, it is essential to describe the actual state of the Mahratta empire previous to the commencement of hostilities, as well in regard to its geographical position and physical force, as to its military resources and political relations.

The empire of the Mahrattas comprehends all the western provinces of the Deccan, which lie between the rivers Narbudda and Krisna; the province of Berar in the interior, that of Cuttack on the eastern coast of the peninsula, and the whole of western Hindustan, excepting Moultan, the Punjab, and Sirhind. These extensive territories are bounded on the north by the mountains of Sewalic, which separate them from Sirinagar and Cashmir; on the north-east by Rohilcund and Oude; on the east by the British provinces of Benares, Behar, Bengal, part of Orissa, the bay of Bengal, and the northern Sircars; on the south by the dominions of the Subahdar of the Deccan, the rivers Krisna and Tumbudra; on the west by that part of the Indian ocean which divides India from Africa; and on the north-west by the sandy deserts of Moultan, the river Sursootee, and the province of Sirhind. The greatest length of the Mahratta dominions, from Delhi in the northern, to the river Tumbudra in the southern extremity, is 970 British miles ; and the extreme breadth from east to west, where they stretch across the peninsula, from the bay of Bengal to the gulph of Cambey, is 900 British miles. This immense tract of country contains the provinces of Delhi, Agra, Ajmere, Malwa, Gujerat, Candeis, Baglana, Visiapur; the Konkan, Berar, Cuttack, and part of Dowlatabad. Of these provinces Delhi, Agra, part of Malwa, Gujerat, Candeis, Baglana and Visiapur, are highly fertile and populous, yielding abundance of the finest grain, thronged with towns and villages, and enriched by a busy internal commerce. The other provinces of the empire are not only less productive, but much less disposed by nature for cultivation and improve

VOL. 5.

a

ment.

ment. Lofty ridges of mountains and vast sterile vales, sometimes covered with wood, form the most prominent features of their local scenery. They are consequently thinly inhabited; but the inhabitants, partaking of the nature of the soil, are hardy, robust, and intrepid. The whole population of the Mahratta empire may be computed at about forty millions. This population is composed of different nations, and of various tribes, of whom nine tenths are Hindus, and the rest Musslumans. The nation from which the empire derived its origin, and takes its name, occupies the province of Baglana, the northern part of Visiapur, and the mountainous districts of Dowlatabad and Berar. These parts of the country formed one of the grand divisions of ancient Hindustan, described by the Hindu geographers, and called in Puranas, Maharastra; by which name its inhabitants are likewise designated. The ancient Maharastras were a pastoral people; who, like the Tartar hordes, united the business of war and plunder to the occupation of shepherds; and the modern Mahrattas, though in some respects more civilized, still inherit the warlike and predatory spirit of their ancestors. This spirit, directed by the talents of some distinguished chieftains, has, in the course of one hundred and sixty years, raised them from the obscurity of freebooters, to be one of the most powerful nations in Asia.

Fortunately, however, for the independence of neighbouring states, the power of this great empire is divided amongst five princes, who, though united together in one general confederacy, under an acknowledged superior, have, nevertheless, not only separate, but rival interests; and are in the constant practice of supporting against each other, by force of arms, their private and individual views. The supremacy of the constituted head of the empire is in reality merely nominal; for as he is the weakest of the five princes, his authority, in all state questions of importance, is not only disregarded but opposed; unless his decision be suitable to the particular interests of each of the others. Even union against foreign aggression, which was the original, and is now the only remaining principle of this singular confederation, has been gradually so much weakened, that it is extremely doubtful whether it could be now revived by any thing short of a general invasion of the whole empire. Except, in such an event, the principal states, so powerful in themselves, and so independent of each other, could have no common interest to unite them. That sentiment

of

of attachment arising from the same religious and civil institutions, the same language, and habits, and the same love of conquest and depredation, must now be almost extinguished. Had that sentiment existed in its original force, a prince endowed with so much sagacity, and possessed of so much power as Holkar, would not have suffered his general rivalship, much less his recent enmity with Scindeah, to subdue all his native feelings, and to induce him to remain an inactive spectator of the march of a British army into the heart of the empire, and the hereditary dominions of his countrymen. The cautious and strict neutrality which he observed on this occasion, clearly demonstrates, that he felt as little sympathy for the cause of the confederates, as for that of the sovereign head of the empire, which the English had espoused; and that he was influenced by no public sentiments whatever, but those which a dread of the English arms, a prudent regard for his own security, and a view of his personal interests, inspired.

Were it not for this disunion amongst these princes, their collective military strength and resources would be extremely formidable.

The efficient force of their combined armies amounts to 210,000 cavalry, and 96,000 infantry; of this force, the whole of the infantry, and about three fourths of the cavalry, are kept in a constant state of readiness to march against an enemy. The infantry is chiefly officered by European adventurers; and in the service of Scindeah, the battalions are accoutred, formed, and brigaded, nearly in the same manner as the native regiments in the British Indian army. To the different bodies of infantry there is attached very large trains of artillery, well appointed and served; and, at the commencement of the late war, the pieces of ordnance attached to Scindeah's brigades amounted to 464.*

The cavalry is divided into four distinct classes; namely, the body guards of the princes; the troops furnished by the Silladars, or armour bearers; the volunteers, who find their own horses, arms, and accoutrements; and the pindarens, or maraudars, who serve without pay, and subsist entirely by plunder. This last class, however, is composed of so licentious and ungovernable a rabble, that it is not now employed in the

a 2

See in the Appendix to this account, the estimate of Scindeah's regular infantry, drawn up from official documents and other authentic sources of information.

ment. Lofty ridges of mountains and vast sterile vales, sometimes covered with wood, form the most prominent features of their local scenery. They are consequently thinly inhabited; but the inhabitants, partaking of the nature of the soil, are hardy, robust, and intrepid. The whole population of the Mahratta empire may be computed at about forty millions. This population is composed of different nations, and of various tribes, of whom nine tenths are Hindus, and the rest Musslumans. The nation from which the empire derived its origin, and takes its name, occupies the province of Baglana, the northern part of Visiapur, and the mountainous districts of Dowlatabad and Berar. These parts of the country formed one of the grand divisions of ancient Hindustan, described by the Hindu geographers, and called in Puranas, Maharastra; by which name its inhabitants are likewise designated. The ancient Maharastras were a pastoral people; who, like the Tartar hordes, united the business of war and plunder to the occupation of shepherds; and the modern Mahrattas, though in some respects more civilized, still inherit the warlike and predatory spirit of their ancestors. This spirit, directed by the talents of some distinguished chieftains, has, in the course of one hundred and sixty years, raised them from the obscurity of freebooters, to be one of the most powerful nations in Asia.

Fortunately, however, for the independence of neighbouring states, the power of this great empire is divided amongst five princes, who, though united together in one general confederacy, under an acknowledged superior, have, nevertheless, not only separate, but rival interests; and are in the constant practice of supporting against each other, by force of arms, their private and individual views. The supremacy of the constituted head of the empire is in reality merely nominal; for as he is the weakest of the five princes, his authority, in all state questions of importance, is not only disregarded but opposed; unless his decision be suitable to the particular interests of each of the others. Even union against foreign aggression, which was the original, and is now the only remaining principle of this singular confederation, has been gradually so much weakened, that it is extremely doubtful whether it could be now revived by any thing short of a general invasion of the whole empire. Except, in such an event, the principal states, so powerful in themselves, and so independent of each other, could have no common interest to unite them. That sentiment

of